Class 1-A dropped to the ground in the darkness. It hadn't been a very far drop, only a few inches at most, but had felt terrifyingly long in the blackness, with no way of telling which way was up. Miku tried to see, to hear anything to figure out where they were. She waved a hand in front of her face experimentally, but saw nothing. They could be miles under the sea – on top of an active volcano – in the cellar of some beautiful public building for all she knew. She swallowed and wiped the blood from her nose.
"Is everyone all right? Who's here?"
"I'm here, Miku." Hayate's voice came from just beside her.
"I'm here, too." Ali-chan seemed a little further away; a couple of steps perhaps. "A little shaken."
"We're all a little shaken after that," replied Spike, somewhere on Miku's left; she couldn't tell exactly where, but probably close by. She had forgotten what it was like to simply not be able to see anything.
"Indeed. I for one would be interested to know more about that old acquaintance of yours… Aisaka-san, was it?" Abe-san seemed annoyed. He seemed to be further to the left than Spike, and Miku was surprised he was awake after getting shocked so badly.
"Three, four, five… that makes all six of us," came Hima-kun's voice from the right. "It was nice of them to keep us all together."
"Do you, by any chance, know why that smoke villain knew your name? Or perhaps you can tell us who this 'Master' is." It was worth a shot, Miku thought; you could (probably) count on Hima-kun to be honest, especially in this sort of situation.
"I'm sorry, Miku-chan, everyone. I have no idea whatsoever what that guy was talking about. I don't think it's a good sign. He seemed to be focused only on me; I wish he'd left you guys behind so you didn't have to get involved in… whatever this is. I'm sorry."
"Don't blame yourself, Hima-kun," answered Hayate, "it wasn't your fault we ran into Ali-chan's classmate."
"You're right there. It was my fault. I should have been able to move along quickly rather than stick around out of curiosity." There was an odd tone in Ali-chan's voice – something like regret mixed with a small, quiet anger unlike her usual self. "I didn't think straight and I walked right into his trap."
"Well, it could have happened to any of us. But, Ali-chan," Miku tipped her head, then realised the girl couldn't see it, "we have a right to know more about Aisaka-san and why he might be willing to sell you out."
There was a sigh from Ali-chan's direction. "Yes, you're right. I'll tell you everything that I know." She paused. "In fact, Aisaka-san is Quirkless, as far as I know; we both went to a school that specialised in… people with weaker or non-existent Quirks. You have to remember, this is before I discovered my possession ability; we all thought that the only thing I could do was use other people's senses. Even now, I can still only take one person at a time with either ability; it's only through Aizawa-sensei's kindness that I got into the hero course."
Aizawa-sensei? Kind? Miku wasn't sure about that…
"Anyway, none of us were really combat-oriented that much. I went to UA fully expecting to be in general studies; perhaps I would get a surveillance job…"
"Get on with it."
"All right, Spike, don't get prickly." She sighed once more. "In short, I'm not entirely sure of his motives: he could simply be jealous of me for getting in the hero course when I'm not strong or – or whatever. On the other hand, it could just be for the money. We weren't exactly friends."
"And… what about the Izumi-chan he mentioned?" Miku asked, twitching her ear slightly. "A friend?"
"Well… yes." Ali-chan's voice suddenly became sad. It was impossible not to want to reach out and hug her, despite the darkness. "She was the epileptic. A good friend, but… that and various other things got us into a big fight before I went to UA. We haven't really talked to each other since then; it's, you know, awkward between us." She stopped. "But… perhaps it's better that way."
There was a long, unhappy silence. With a quiet, pessimistic voice, Abe-san spoke up.
"You… don't think you could find out if there's anyone near us, do you? I mean, read their minds?"
"I'm sorry, Abe-san, everyone. I can only use someone's senses if… if I know they're in my range. But since I don't…"
"Well, that's true," Hima-kun sounded glum. "We could be anywhere, from miles underground to the middle of the city. We might not even be in Japan anymore."
"Exactly." There was a rustle, as of Ali-chan adjusting her clothes. "For example, if I'd known Aisaka-san had a companion… I could have made the other one walk away. But they sprang their trap so fast…"
"Nobody could have predicted that, Ali-chan."
"No. I'm not a mind reader."
There was a tired groan from Spike. "Come on, let's not argue about these distinctions. We're UA students, dammit. We've got to get out of here, even if it's the bottom of the ocean."
"All right." Miku put her hand on the ground and started feeling around. "Everyone try to find the walls or a door or something. I think –"
There was a noise. She froze. "Actually, wait. I heard something on the other side of the wall. I think – I think someone's nearby."
"Right." Ali-chan's voice was determined. "I'll try and use their senses unintrusively."
A pause. One second, two. She seemed to be trying to locate… whoever it was.
"There, I think I've found them. I'll go in now." Everyone paused, listening closely to her breathing, trying to catch the moment of truth.
There was a yelp.
"Gah!" She began to pant, gasping quickly at the air. "Oh, god…"
"What is it? Is something wrong?"
"I think… I think this person has some sort of mental defence Quirk… Oh, my head… It feels like… aah… being stabbed by Spike." A groan. "No offense. But… mentally, it's as though he has some sort of malicious aura." She chuckled slightly, a dead, empty sort of sound. "So, yes, there is something wrong. Something there is very wrong indeed."